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Do men overperceive women's sexual interest?
Carin Perilloux1, Robert Kurzban2
1Union College carinp@gmail.com.
Psychological Science
|November 22, 2014
Summary
Men may accurately perceive women's sexual intentions, challenging the idea that they overestimate them. Women may understate their intentions, suggesting men's perceptions are more accurate than previously thought.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Human Sexuality
Background:
- Existing research suggests men overestimate women's sexual intentions.
- This interpretation assumes women's self-reports accurately reflect their true intentions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether men's perceptions of women's sexual intentions are accurate.
- To explore the alternative hypothesis that women understate their sexual intentions.
Main Methods:
- Replication of sex differences in sexual-intent ratings.
- Experimental manipulation to incentivize truth-telling in men's ratings.
- Assessment of women's beliefs about other women's self-reported intentions.
Main Results:
- The typical sex difference in sexual-intent ratings was replicated.
- Men's ratings of women's sexual intentions remained consistent even when incentivized to be truthful.
- Women perceived that other women understate their sexual intentions in self-report measures.
Conclusions:
- Findings suggest men's perceptions of women's sexual intentions may be accurate.
- Women might understate their intentions, leading to apparent overestimation by men.
- Men may manage perceptual errors through behavioral adjustments rather than biased beliefs.
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